Our law enforcers must be blind to race

Aushi Das; 25/3/10

How many times have you heard people say: Australia is not a racist country. Presumably they mean racism is not enshrined in Australian law (as it once was) and that racism is not widely practised. This convenient standard line is frequently used to shut down discussion about race relations in Australia. It’s futile to keep banging on that Australia is not a racist country – not because it is a racist country, but because nobody is arguing that Australia is a racist country. The real, more nuanced, and more mature discussion is about whether there is a significant strain of racial discomfort with “the other” in the Australian national character. Many Australians simply don’t want to even countenance such an idea.